


Next Year

by 1989



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Adoption, Bonding, DAVID IS TRYING HIS BEST AND I LOVE HIM OK, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Referenced Child Abuse, Referenced Drug Use, brought to you by hurricane irma, dadvid, not super bad but it aint all sunshine and rainbows hoo boy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-12
Updated: 2017-09-12
Packaged: 2018-12-26 17:42:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12063891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1989/pseuds/1989
Summary: It'd been a year since Max's parents failed to show up on Parents Day, seven months since he'd run away to find refuge with his camp counselor and four months since said counselor officially adopted him- but David still had no clue what camp to sign Max up for, and asking him directly was somehow less effective.





	Next Year

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this in the car while evacuating from tampa to orlando and if that doesn't tell you who i am as a person i honestly don't know what will
> 
> i hope you enjoy this because it was a lot of fun to write!!

 

This year David was going to _ensure_ that Max was signed up for a camp.

They'd discussed it months before the school year had even come to a close, back when Max became a permanent member of David's household instead of a temporary foster child. Max bemoaned the idea and continued reiterating the fact that he'd rather be hit by an oncoming bus than step foot on campgrounds again, much less have an entire camp tailored to his own interests. David spent the next ten minutes lecturing Max on the importance of pedestrian safety, and finished by insisting that he figure something out sooner than later. Once the time to enlist rolled around, David still received a half-hearted shrug and quick change of subject from his charge whenever he asked if he'd decided on a camp yet.

David was currently seated at their dining room table, mindlessly chewing on the back of his pen as he bore a hole into the empty space on Max's application (that he still had to completely fill out, even though he was both Max's counselor _and_ lone emergency contact). The blank line seemed to taunt him with its emptiness, serving as a constant reminder that- despite the fact that he'd technically been the child's legal guardian for the past seven months and known him for nearly three years- he knew less about him than he'd ever care to admit.

Sure, he made plenty of inferences based on behaviour and offhanded comments: he knew that Max's favourite cartoon was Phineas and Ferb because he would stay up until midnight to catch reruns, that he couldn't sleep well without a nightlight and that he preferred pouring half a bottle of Hershey's syrup into a carton of 2% and chugging it over buying pre-made chocolate milk since it "tasted better". He knew that Max was born to a pair of irresponsible twenty-somethings who favoured shooting up drugs to raising their child, and that he'd been so grossly neglected that he taught himself to heat up Kid Cuisines and do laundry by the age of seven. David also knew that, even though life had been set up against him in the most unfair ways imaginable ever since he was an infant, Max still managed to be the most courageous kid David had ever met.

Regardless of these bits of equally important information, the fact remained that he had no clue as to what Max was passionate about beyond video games and the conspiracy theories that David chastised him for researching because of his paranoia that the government would eventually come knocking. He didn't like sharing those things with others- heck, the last time he'd seen Max truly open up about something was when they were seated before a social worker and he had to recall every instance of abuse from the past ten years to be filed in a report. He broke down the second they reached their car afterwards, clutching onto the back of David's sweater with trembling fists and sobbing into his chest as he choked out that he _didn't want to remember any of it,_ he _just wanted to go home and sleep._ Max eventually wore himself out and passed out from exhaustion in the backseat and David's hands gripped tighter around the steering wheel as he silently swore that he'd never let anyone lay a hand on that child as long as he lived.

The entire adoption process was difficult on Max. A large scale case had been conducted against his parents with allegations of both substance and child abuse and, naturally, he'd been used as evidence to help convict them. As a result of all the stressed this evoked, Max lashed out daily at small, seemingly insignificant things, angry at the world and unequipped with the tools to direct his feelings elsewhere. It was rough, but David assured himself that it was worth it for Max to have a warm, safe bed to sleep in each night and a home full of unconditional love and care.

Once David finally gained full custody of Max, however, things began to mellow out. Max was still the snarky kid he'd once been, but a bit of the edge had been taken off once the negative stimuli controlling his life was completely removed. He laughed at things that didn't directly involve the pain and suffering of others. He started accepting affection from those around him instead of just flinching whenever someone raised their hand for a high five- though that still happened- and even reciprocated it (albeit only _occasionally_ ) in the form of short hugs. He'd even accidentally called David his dad once when asking if they could buy a tub of ice cream while grocery shopping. David started sobbing in the freezer section of Publix, and though Max would vehemently deny it with every fiber of his being he'd never really stopped since that day.

There was no doubt that an immense amount of progress had been made from the first time Max had been dropped off at camp, to the night he arrived at David's apartment gripping the straps of a tiny backpack, shivering and wet after running away during a storm up until the present day; still, Max continuously prevented David from fully understanding him, as evidenced by the fact that he'd been sitting at the table for an hour without an answer to what had to be one of the simplest questions on the entire paper besides name and age. 

David flicked the pen back and forth between his fingers. He certainly couldn't leave it blank, but... maybe undecided was a feasible option?

That worked back in college, at least.

Tiny socked feet suddenly pattered into the kitchen, their owner passing by the dining table and moving towards the refrigerator. Max returned sipping a juice box and wordlessly plopped down at the seat facing David's, flipping open the DS he'd brought along and resuming whatever game he'd left off on.

For a moment the only sound infiltrating the quiet room came from the click of the control pad on Max's video game, until it dawned upon David that the solution to his current predicament had just sat down in front of him. How convenient!

"Hey Max?"

Said boy paused his Bomberman battle and set his half-empty juice box onto one of the only spaces on their small table that wasn't covered in paperwork for himself and the other campers that David had been sent a week or so prior. "Yeah Dad?"

"Listen bud," David started, folding his hands and quickly adopting the parental tone that he used fairly often around Max even before he'd come to live with him. "I can tell you don't wanna discuss it, but we really need to figure out a camp to sign you up for."

"Jesus, not _this_ again." Max dipped his head backwards and groaned towards the ceiling, rolling his eyes in annoyance as he did so. "Why can't you just leave it blank like it's been for the past two years?"

David felt a bit insulted at the mere implication that he would do such a thing, even if it wasn't what Max intended. Before he could catch himself, David let "because I'm not your parents" slip past his filter. He meant to say something along the lines of "because I care," but both statements were true; he cared a tremendous amount, and tried to make Max aware through each action that he would never treat him like his parents once did.

Max seemed taken aback by the remark as if he'd been expecting something entirely different, and an expression that appeared vaguely apologetic flashed across his face before he turned away, fixating his eyes on the nutrition information listed on his juice box. 

He read over the words yellow 14 at least three times before muttering with a frown that every camp there sucked.

"But that's what's cool about it, kiddo! You can choose whatever activity you want and we'll implement it into the camp." An easy smile spread across David's face as he grabbed Max's application and slid it across the table to the child who was now staring downwards at his lap. "It can be anything: video games, reading- heck, we could even have a conspiracy theory camp if that's what you really want!" It must be noted that camp began in approximately six days, and David was willing to compromise big time at this point. "It's up to you." 

When Max lifted his head again David instantly saw the tears welling in his eyes, though they were wiped away with a brush of his shoulder as quickly as they'd appeared. On impulse, David scrambled out of his chair and knelt in front of Max's. "Hey, hey, it's okay," he assured, putting a gentle hand on Max's shoulder and immediately backtracking on what he'd previously said. "We don't have to pick out an activity just yet if it makes you this upset."

"I'm not sad, you idiot," Max snapped and swatted away David's hand, sounding tired rather than irritated like what one might've expected.

David's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, yet he said nothing and allowed Max to continue when he was ready. He took a moment to collect himself and drew in a deep breath before beginning again. "You know they never asked what  _I_ wanted to do. They just threw me into the back of the car and dumped me off at some shady camp so they wouldn't have to deal with me for two months." David knew who he was alluding to without being told; Max didn't like calling his previous guardians his parents but David chided him for referring to them as "the druggies", so they'd come to a compromise to simply say "them", assuming that the other would typically pick up on who they were talking about. 

Max stalled again, mulling over his next words as if contemplating whether he wanted to voice them or not. "I'm sorry I keep pushing you away," he finally mumbled. "I just-" Max sniffled in the middle of his sentence and swiped at newly formed tears with the palms of his hands. "I'm not used to this. To," he paused, gesturing between himself and David, " _this_."

The red head understood what he meant without further explanation- he didn't _want_ any further explanation. He preferred not to dwell on the fact that his child couldn't adjust to having a guardian who genuinely cared because he came from a household where he was ignored on most days and beaten on bad ones. It made him mad enough to nearly drive to the county prison and deliver both of his parents (they didn't even deserve that title) with a black eye. 

Max swung his legs back and forth in the empty space below, an action he subconsciously did whenever he was nervous. He continued to stare at his lap for a good minute and once he spoke again his voice came out shaky and barely audible. "It's stupid as shit, but I guess I'm afraid that... that, I dunno, you'll eventually get tired of putting up with me and want to give me back." 

David's brain short circuited the second the words reached his ears. It was strung together like a question, as if the child himself was unsure of what he truly meant. Perhaps the most heartbreaking part was that Max didn't seem to understand the weight of such a statement: he was  _used_ to adults abandoning him. It'd become so commonplace throughout his short ten years of life that he  _anticipated_ it, expected every person who walked into his life with the responsibility of looking after him to pull a 180 degree turn and leave him to his own devices. Max wasn't pushing David away just because he wasn't used to someone caring- he was afraid he was going to stop like everyone else. 

"You don't actually..." David clamped his mouth shut before he could complete the sentence. He'd planned to ask Max if he sincerely believed that, but unfortunately already knew the answer, and was also well aware that Max wouldn't willingly give it to him.

"Max, I wouldn't do that in a million years," he tried again, no trace of the typically silly, overtly energetic David present on his face; it'd all been replaced with total seriousness, something this situation direly required.

"I know you wouldn't!" Max exclaimed, defiance at who knows what filling his eyes. Better than tears, David supposed. "You're fucking David who puts bugs outside on napkins instead of squashing them and gives money to bums even though you  _know_ they're gonna waste it on booze, and who adopted me in the first place! You wouldn't hurt someone holding a gun to your head, so it's stupid of me to feel that way!" 

"No, it's not," David responded simply without so much as a beat missed. "Your feelings aren't  _stupid,_ Max. You have absolutely no control over them." A sliver of him expected to be met with a scowl and snappy remark about sounding like the narrator in a bullying advert, but Max did nothing other than stare back at him with an unreadable expression, which made David press on. "If you've only been treated one way your entire life, of course you're going to become accustomed to it and get scared that it'll happen each time. That's okay! Healing takes a whole lot of time, kiddo. But I hope you come to realize that things _do_ change, even if it takes a while, and that I would never "get tired" of raising you," David promised, putting air quotes over Max's words. "Because that would be, well... pretty shitty," he chuckled nervously. In his defense, it was the likely the most effective way to drive the point home to Max that he would never abandon him.

Normally, the prospect of David cursing would have Max rolling on the floor and clutching his sides in laughter; now, however, he sat completely still, his eyes having shifted from David's to the tile floor beneath them. Just as David was about to ask if he was alright he was enveloped in an embrace, arms wrapping around his shoulders quickly. Despite being short lived, the hug conveyed more than enough for David to understand.

"Thanks," Max murmured as he let go, even though David had already said 'you're welcome' inside his head.

"Of course." David gave him a supportive smile and ruffled his hair which Max, for once, didn't protest to, though it did make a grimace reappear on his face. "And if you ever feel worried about it, just come to me. You shouldn't have to deal with that on your own." As the red head rose to his feet, he accidentally knocked off the document that had been leaning halfway over the table. "Whoops!" He retrieved the fallen paper and moved to return it to the stack of others. 

"Wait!" David turned to see Max with his hand held out towards him and gesturing wildly at the paper. Slightly confused, David hesitantly handed it over, but realized within a second what Max intended to do as he snatched the pen David had been using from the opposite end of the table and jotted down one word in the empty column. A huge grin slipped onto David's face as he took the paper again and read the word in the messy handwriting that starkly contrasted his own neat script.

"Do _not_ look too deeply into this," Max warned, pointing an accusatory finger at the taller man who looked like he might burst into tears of happiness at any moment. "It's not because of your stupid guitar, I just want Gwen to teach me to play keyboard."

"Oh, you're going to learn guitar, alright! By the end of the summer, you'll be the second best guitar player in the whole camp!" 

"Is it too late to fail fifth grade so I can go to summer school instead?"

"Nope!"

"I'm going to tear my hair out," Max complained, though he couldn't deny that he was secretly excited for camp to begin so he could learn both instruments.

Later in the day when David filed everyone's paperwork away for safekeeping, he couldn't help but smile at Max's (now complete) application. Not only had the empty line been filled, but a tiny void in his heart was as well.

**Author's Note:**

> LOL I'M SURE YOU ALL KNOW WHAT CAMP HE SIGNED UP FOR
> 
> cheesy ending because uh hi i suck at writing endings, i'm so so sorry 
> 
> a comment a day keeps the hurricane away!


End file.
